Alabama law requires every retail dealer of handguns (but not rifles or shotguns) to obtain a local license.1 A city, town or political subdivision may grant retail firearms dealer licenses that are effective for no more than one year, subject to the following conditions:

The business must be carried on only in the building designated in the license; and

The license or a copy thereof, certified by the issuing authority, must be displayed on the premises where it can easily be read;2

A law passed in 2015 removed other dealer requirements, including provisions that previously required dealers to keep records of handgun sales, prohibited dealers from selling handguns to purchasers who failed to present clear evidence of identity (unless the purchaser was personally known to the dealer), and prohibiting dealers from displaying handguns, handgun imitations, and placards advertising the sale of handguns in any part of their premises where it could be readily seen from the outside.3